


Diner, Drive In, and Cry

by ibecomeaffinity



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ben has anger issues, Christmas, Domestic Fluff, Rey has anxiety, Road Trips, Road trips are hard, Waffles and coffee help, a modern day waffle house au, bonus capri sun shout out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-22 15:27:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17062340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ibecomeaffinity/pseuds/ibecomeaffinity
Summary: Ben and Rey are heading south for Christmas. Rey had thought an eighteen hour road trip could be fun, she was sorely mistaken. But breakfast food can heal all hurts.Or - marriage is hard, forgiveness is important, and anxiety is a liar.





	Diner, Drive In, and Cry

**Author's Note:**

> This dorky little bit is dedicated to [Sunni](https://twitter.com/poppiwillow), one of the most kind and fun people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. This whole reylo waffle house epidemic is completely because of her! I couldn't be more thankful. Show her some love, because her beautiful soul deserves it! 
> 
> And as always, a special shout out to my perfect beta, [Weddersins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weddersins) who's talent, skill, and ability to put up with me knows no bounds. Ily!

They had been in the car for twelve hours. 

 

Twelve. 

 

They still had another five or so to go. 

 

It had been Rey’s idea to make a road trip instead of just hopping on a plane - They could take in the scenery, make stops along the way, take photos in different states. She had wanted to make an entire adventure of it. Experience all the fun road trip tropes and make memories to look back on for years to come. 

 

The reality of the journey had been much more bleak -  not to mention grueling. They had gotten a very late start getting Beebee to the kennel, his codependent personality making it impossible to just say bye and walk out the door. They had been stuck there for nearly an hour giving him hugs and kisses and trying to force him back. 

 

Then they realized they had forgotten her wallet. 

 

Then they needed gas because she forgot to fill it up the day before. 

 

Then they needed breakfast and coffee because they were both pissy. 

 

Traffic had been an absolute nightmare, even once they had made it out of the city. It was a constant sluggish crawl. It appeared that everyone decided to start their Christmas vacations at the same time as Ben and Rey. It was infuriating, really, but they tried their best to laugh it off and focus on the positives that they could find. 

 

They spend the first little while in pleasant conversation - they caught up on each other’s work gossip, and all the hectic emergencies that came with the week before Christmas. They interlaced their fingers and gave each other little kisses on the cheek. They talked about the movies they were excited to catch while on break; the people they couldn’t wait to see. 

 

But then the traffic had started to get to Ben. She could tell he was agitated by how fervently he was bouncing his knee. He had reclaimed his hand, fingers drumming loudly on the steering wheel. He kept pushing his hair back, even when it clearly wasn't in his face. She recognized all of his nervous ticks. 

 

She didn't really know what to do. She asked if he wanted her to rub his shoulders.  _ No I'm fine _ _._ Did he want a drink from the back?  _ No, Rey, you only packed Capri Suns _ _._ Did he have a music preference?  _ No, anything is fine _ _._ Did he want her to drive for a bit?  _ I SAID I'M FINE.  _

 

She stopped asking after he yelled and then  stopped talking entirely. It took them nearly three hours to get out of the horrible build up of cars, and by that time it was nearing lunch. They weren't even remotely close to where they had planned to stop. So, in the interest of time, they opted for a quick drive thru and got back on the road. 

 

The food helped their moods, but did not manage to lift the black cloud entirely. Another hour and she  _ really _ needed to pee. Since they hadn't gone inside the restaurant, she didn't really think about it and now there was no stopping it. She begged Ben to pull over, apologizing profusely. He didn't say a word, just glared ahead as he pulled off the highway again. 

 

The day dragged on that way. Rey finally retreated into herself, digging out her ear buds and pulling up a podcast. Eventually she drifted to sleep.

 

When she woke up he was  _ livid _ _._ They were at a gas station, he was banging the nozzle around the gas cap as well as what sounded like thumping it on  the trunk. When he was done he opened her door and said it was her turn to drive. He looked absolutely done. 

 

Rey climbed out and gave Ben a tentative hug,disheartened when he returned it with one arm but didn't say anything. 

 

Rey felt like a jerk. Road trips were most definitely not fun, apparently. She hated herself for suggesting it - no,  _ pushing _ it. Ben had told her over and over (and over) again that she would regret it if they drove the entire east coast. She had been adamant that it would be worth it. 

 

_ “When else are we going to be able to see every state on the coast?”  _

 

_ “Literally whenever we want to, Rey. They’re not going anywhere!”  _

 

He had been right, of course. It was emphatically Not Worth It. But she was far too prideful to make  _ t hat _ announcement at the moment. 

 

As she put them back on the interstate, Rey took in her surroundings. They were just crossing into South Carolina. Only one state lay in between them and their destination. They just had to make it to Tallahassee, where they would sleep off all of the road rage and then finish the brief trek to Panama City. Where they would sure-as-shit book a plane ride back home to New York. Rey wasn’t about to endure this again in a week.  

 

She glanced over at Ben, who was snoring ever so quietly. Even in his sleep, he looked stressed and strung out. She grimaced. It was already difficult enough coordinating a time everyone could get together for the holidays, making sure they could get the appropriate days off. Ben’s work had been horrific lately, a gigantic merger taking up his every waking moment. 

 

Rey was a mechanic, she worked the same hours on the same five days of the week. She did the same kind of tasks over and over again. She interacted with people on a continual basis. She made maybe one fifth of what Ben did and had zero benefits. 

 

His work, however, came home with him, he got called in on off days, his email was always pinging. His pay was through the roof and his benefits were immaculate. She was immensely thankful and never really felt bad about the set up. 

 

But every now and then, when she stressed him out or upset him, however -  _t hen_ she felt bad. She would find herself caught in a spiral, telling herself that all she did was complicate his life and make things less enjoyable. She could be such a  _ child _ sometimes. She was always terrified that one day he would wake up and realize he had made a huge mistake. 

 

Rey shook her head, clearing the cobwebbing thoughts away. 

 

She didn’t have time to go down that rabbit trail. It was nearing ten at night, they needed food. Sure, she could let him sleep and just plow her way to the hotel - but once food was in her head it wasn’t going anywhere until she was satisfied. Plus, hangery Ben was a beast she didn’t want to deal with, certainly when they were already on the road trip from hell. 

 

That, and if she were being honest, she was going to actually murder someone if she didn’t get out of the car. 

 

They could handle an hour stop. 

 

She started looking at the road signs, seeing what her options were. She saw an exit labeled ‘Charleston’ and took it, recognizing the name and knowing it would be a big enough city. Most places, however, were closed or about to close. 

 

Rey drove around for a little while, growing more and more exasperated. She could feel tears pricking the corners of her eyes. She had just wanted to grab some food. Now she had wasted a good fifteen or so minutes all for nothing. Ben would be furious if he woke up, her anxiety whispered. She shook it away again.  _ Anxiety is a liar, _ she told herself, and kept driving. 

 

As she turned on her signal, preparing to u-turn, she caught sight of a brightly lit little building. It was all windows, and she could see that inside it was hopping. So instead of turning around, she pulled in. Glancing at the front door, she read they were a 24-hour breakfast joint. 

 

Breakfast was Ben’s favorite meal. 

 

She grinned. Hopefully -  _ hopefully _ \- that would placate him enough to be okay with waking up still stuck in the middle of this hellish road trip.

 

It was never an easy feat waking up her husband, however. When the man was asleep, he was  _ asleep _ and you had better have a good reason to be messing that up. 

 

She leaned over and gave his shoulders a little shake. When he didn’t respond, she started to card her fingers through his hair. He stirred a bit. She then stroked his cheek until his eyes started fluttering. 

 

“Hey, love,” she whispered. “We’re stopped for food.” 

 

He groaned and shook his head. “That’s a terrible idea.” 

 

“Me driving hangry is a terrible idea.” 

 

Ben started rubbing his eyes, but made no real effort to move. She huffed. 

 

“It’s a breakfast joint.”

 

He cracked on eye open and glanced at her before turning his attention to the little building in front of him. He didn’t seem too impressed, a scowl on his features. 

_  
“ Waffle House ?  _ This looks like a hangout for three a.m. alcoholics.” 

 

“Wow. Okay then, you can stay in the car while I go and eat a massive plate of waffles and bacon by myself, Mr. Pretentious-too-good-for-everyone-else.” She grabbed her wallet from the center console and gave him  _ a look _ before stomping out of the car and into the restaurant. 

 

Once inside she took it all in: the smell of the grill, the loud conversations of the clientele, the hustling staff. She felt thrown back in time, almost. It was…. It was  _ cute .  _   
  


“Sit wherever you’d like, hon!” an older lady in the back hollered at her. Rey gave her a little wave and walked to the farthest booth. She shrugged off her jacket before sliding in, making sure her back was facing the car so she couldn’t see whatever look Ben might be giving her. 

 

Her feelings were hurt, she acknowledged while scanning over the menu. It was silly to be so upset over such a brief conversation with him, but after the day they had… she was being overly sensitive. Still, she was stubborn. She would sit in this booth and eat first, then she’d finish the drive to the hotel. 

 

When they woke up the next morning, she would apologize. 

 

“Good evenin’, doll.” the waitress gave Rey a beaming smile. “What can I get you?” 

 

“So much coffee, please,” Rey returned the smile. “So much of it.” 

  
The waitress laughed. “Alright, I can do that. And water?” 

 

Rey nodded and said she needed another minute for her food decision. Her eyes were watery again. This was ridiculous. She just wanted a waffle, some coffee, and for this stupid trip to be over. 

 

Someone slid into the booth across from her. She immediately knew it was him, but didn’t dare look up. There was no need to start crying in the middle of the diner. Neither of them spoke, the silence between them deafening and agonizing. 

 

Their waitress returned with the coffee and Rey managed a “just another minute” before finally looking up at her husband. 

 

He looked terrible. 

 

She felt a pang of guilt seeing how utterly wrecked he appeared. He had dark circles under his eyes, his black-brown hair sticking out in every which way. His clothes were wrinkled and the air around him was filled with a sense of defeat. She really took advantage of him on this trip and then had the audacity to be upset with him. She was the worst wife. He didn’t deserve all of this. He was the one stuck with all of her terrible decision making. It was amazing how much he put up with. She wouldn’t be surprised if this was the final straw - 

 

He slid his hand across the table, palm up, still not looking at her. Her chest ached. She rested her hand atop his. 

 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. 

 

“I am too.” Ben finally looked at her, dark eyes full of sleep and guilt. . “I let everything get to me and was acting like a child. You didn’t deserve my attitude.”

 

“You didn’t deserve my poor decision making.” 

 

He huffed. “A road trip really was a terrible idea.” his hand squeezed around hers. “But the reasoning behind it was sweet.” 

 

She grimaced. “Not really. I was selfish. You didn’t want to and I kept pushi-” 

  
“No, stop. No self deprecating talk at the table.” His unspoken mantra of  _ anxiety is a liar _ filled the air between them. 

 

She offered him a watery smile. “I’m so sorry, Ben.” 

 

“I’ll forgive you if you forgive me.” a wink her way. She cracked a genuine smile. 

 

“Deal.” 

 

The waitress came back, possibly having watched the entire exchange waiting for the right moment. Rey ordered her waffle with chocolate  _ and _ peanut butter chips, as she had picked out the moment she saw it - with a side of hash browns. 

 

Ben went all in. Ordering the All Star special, ready to devour every last bite. 

  
They sipped their coffee and chatted. Ranting about terrible driving they witnessed, lamenting not having Beebee with them, guessing what Leia’s big reveal  _ this _ year would be. They held hands throughout the meal, moaning over how amazing the waffles were, getting refill after refill of coffee. 

 

It was the best it had been all day. They chatted well passed the hour limit Rey had given herself. They guessed what gifts would be received, who would show up unexpected (someone always did), when their various friends would finally tie the knot and join them in the world of marriage.

 

They discussed future kids, casually - Rey coming up with the most ridiculous names just to drive Ben crazy. Ben saying he wanted to ship them all off to boarding school as soon as possible to agitate Rey. She said they needed another animal to be at home with Beebee, he was lonely during the days. He readily agreed - maybe a smaller dog or even a cat. 

 

It was all very domestic, and Rey was glad for it. It had seemed like they had been separate from each other all day and it was a heavenly feeling to reconnect. She eventually slid onto the same bench he sat on, cuddling into his side. 

 

They slowly sipped their final cups of coffee, motivating each other to get back in the car. Their waitress dropped their tab off, telling them to pay up front. Rey rested her head on Ben’s shoulder. 

 

She felt him plant a gentle kiss in her hair. 

 

“I love you,” he murmured. 

 

“I love you too.”

 

Rey had never felt so thankful for a little diner as much as she did in that moment.

 


End file.
